Museums & Attractions
- Dinosaurs Unearthed, at the Saint Louis Science Center, is the biggest exhibition of its kind ever to visit St. Louis. More than 20 life-size dinosaurs, some animatronic, and some of the first feathered fossils and models, are displayed in realistic, prehistoric habitats. Visitors have an opportunity to take control of the movements of eight animatronic dinosaurs, such as a baby stegosaurus, baryonyx, parasaurolophus and an allosaurus. Five life-size skeletons are also on display in tropical settings, including a towering 62-foot long omeisaurus. Throughout the exhibition, bones and footprints are displayed in glass cases, along with in-depth information pertaining to each fossil. The science center offers group options that include green meetings packages. For more information, call 314.286.4634 or visit www.slsc.org.
- The $68 million Independence Events Center in Independence, Mo., recently debuted as a multipurpose arena with 5,800 fixed seats, 25 luxury suites, a bar and grill and a community ice rink. The arena is the home of the Missouri Mavericks professional hockey team and will serve as the venue for 32 games of the team’s first season. The center is also open to group events, including use of its hospitality suites. For more information, call 816.795.7577 or visit www.independenceeventscenter.com.
Programs & Packages
- The Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park is offering groups its "A Really, Really Sweet Meeting Deal" package. Components include 10 percent off guest room revenue, 10 percent off banquet menus, a one-per-30 complimentary room ratio, daily complimentary breakfast and a one-hour welcome reception. The hotel can accommodate groups of 1,000 or more, offering 14 meeting and function spaces, including three ballrooms. The hotel can also host green meetings with its new Eco-Meet program, which encourages maximum waste diversion and environmental awareness for conference attendees. For more information, call 312.565.7400 or visit www.fairmontmeetings.com/chicago.
Kudos
- The Chicago Office of Tourism’s official Twitter account, @ExploreChicago, was ranked in the top three Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) accounts for three consecutive months, according to Go See Tell, a website that ranks Twitter feeds of over 450 destinations nationwide on a monthly basis. The rankings are based on scores provided by the third-party group Twitter Grader, which measures criteria including number and "power" of followers, frequency of updates and overall engagement. The account @ExploreChicago was named No.1 for DMOs for the month of September 2009, gaining over 600 new followers and posting an average number of 24.7 updates per day. The tourism office uses the account to offer advice to visitors. Visitor service representatives answer questions and provide information with a focus on free and discounted events and activities in neighborhoods throughout Chicago. For more information, call 877.244.2246 or visit www.explorechicago.org.